Close to You
by MagicHateBall
Summary: Arnold and Lila finally meet each other halfway. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Hello there, this is the first chapter of my first ever fanfic. This story is dedicated to a few people-

**Camille** and **Shon**, for inadvertently getting me back into the HA! Fandom.

**Tara**, for her fantabulous Photoshop skills.

And especially **Marcos**, for giving me the motivation to get off my lazy butt and write this, although I actually did write this _while_ sitting on my lazy butt. Guess that's what you'd call ironic…

Anyway, I don't own Hey Arnold! or any of its characters. Craig Bartlett does. So there.

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The first thing Arnold felt as he opened his eyes was the skin-searing heat of a bright summer's day. Fortunately, the sting of looking directly into the sun distracted him from it momentarily. Disoriented, he tried to gain his bearings. _Where am I? _He thought to himself dimly. _How did I get here?_ The second question remained unanswered, but after rubbing the sunspots out of his eyes, he discovered that he had fallen asleep at the municipal pool on a nearby beach chair.

"Hey, Arnold!"

Arnold turned his head to spot the distinctly chipper female voice that had called him, and saw Lila Sawyer sitting at the edge of the deep end, soaking her feet in the conspicuously empty pool. In fact, besides Lila, there was nobody around for as far as Arnold could see. The years had been extremely kind to Ms. Sawyer, he mused. She had grown her hair out and removed her braids around the eighth grade, so her hair was now a brilliant cascade of red that fell gracefully down to the small of her back. Her small green bikini accentuated her well-toned yet slender curves. After staring at her for several awkward seconds, Arnold dove into the water which was thankfully cold, as it helped alleviate both the uncomfortable heat and the decidedly comfortable sensation he'd experienced from getting an eyeful of half-naked Lila. He swam a few meters toward where Lila was waiting at the edge of the pool.

"Hi Lila," Arnold said, inwardly swearing at himself for concentrating more on ogling his crush than coming up with a response, "Hot enough for ya?"

_Smooth. _Real_ smooth._

Lila giggled a bit, to Arnold's great relief.

"So, are you just going to stand there, or can I get a ride around the pool?"

It was a miracle that Arnold managed to prevent himself from grinning until his face split. "Sure thing." he replied, holding out his arms, "hop on." In one fluid motion, Lila lifted herself over the surface of the pool and straight into Arnold's arms, dangling her long dancer's legs over the surface of the water. "You've practiced that." Arnold remarked, with what he hoped was a charming smirk.

"Not really, I'm just flexible," she replied with a seductive purr in her voice, "If you play your cards right, you may find out just _how_ flexible I can be."

Arnold was taken aback at Lila's frankness. Something was clearly out of the ordinary here, but he was torn between determining the cause of Lila's flirtations or simply enjoying them while they lasted. After a brief consultation between his upper and lower extremities, he chose the latter, and made good on his promise of carrying Lila around the pool, giving her the grand tour of the local landmarks, including the stray Band-Aid by the deep end and the loose change some kids had placed in the filter.

"And that's pretty much it. Did I forget anything?"

"Yeah," Lila replied, lifting her right hand and gently tracing the line of Arnold's jaw with her fingertips. "You forgot to let me thank you properly."

Arnold needed no further invitation. He lowered Lila gently until her head rested just above the water, her toes skimming the pool's surface. He looked into her bright green eyes and felt his heart melt as he took a deep breath, leaned in gently, and planted his lips on Lila's, giving her a passionate but chaste kiss that lasted for what felt like an eternity.

Arnold pulled away with a bewildered look on his face. He hadn't felt a thing. The warm kiss that he knew he had just experienced simply wasn't registering with his sense of touch. He looked back at Lila, who was gazing back at him with a sad, contrite expression.

"I'm sorry, Arnold."

"Sorry for what?"

"I'm so sorry." Lila lifted her right hand from the cool water and placed it on Arnold's burning cheek, then pulled it back and slapped him with the force of a small freight train.

Arnold bolted upright in his bed in a cold sweat. _Great_, thought Arnold. _Another dream. That makes three times this week. I'll give myself points for originality, though, it's never been at the pool before. Carnivals, restaurants, concerts, even a few rodeos, but never at a pool._ He looked out his skylight to see the first light snowflakes of winter falling on the city. _I couldn't even get the season right,_ he thought bitterly. He glanced at the clock: four in the morning.

Taking a deep breath, Arnold let out his frustration with a long sigh. He'd never been able to sleep after a Lila dream before, and tonight didn't feel like an exception. _At least she apologized this time_, he thought with a weary smile. Arnold gently lowered his head back onto his pillow, and felt a single tear sting his eye and roll down the cheek that Lila had placed her hand on moments before.

_

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_

_A/N: Whether you like it so far or not, I'd love to hear from you! Please review!_


	2. Chapter 2

Since the first time Arnold had dreamt about Lila, the resulting insomnia had become more and more unpleasant. The first time it had happened, back when Arnold was only twelve years old, he woke to a dark, lonely bedroom and a pillow that he had just finished getting to first base with. Trying to sleep after feeling Dream-Lila's soft lips against his had proven impossible, so he whiled away the six hours until dawn thinking about the real Lila. This approach worked somewhat well, but Arnold quickly realized that he would be torturing himself this way if she kept appearing in his dreams.

That was five years ago.

In the present, seventeen-year-old Arnold tossed and turned in his bed, trying to at least find a comfortable position before resuming his nightly ritual. On the day Arnold and Lila had broken up in the park, a day that, in Arnold's opinion, would live in infamy, he promised Lila that they would remain close friends. Unbeknownst to Arnold at the time, this pledge would ensure him a permanent place in the layer of Dante's Inferno reserved for failed relationships, a horrible limbo known as the "friend zone." Despite this, Arnold decided that it would be worth the punishment simply in exchange for the shivers that she sent down his spine when she called his name in the hallways, or brushed a stray hair away from his face in study hall. This, then, was yet another form of self-inflicted torture that Arnold had chosen rather than face the possibility of a life without Lila. He was now facing but one of the many negative consequences of that decision.

Arnold's crush on Lila, or rather, the fact that he _still_ had a crush on Lila, was a closely-guarded secret, shared only by his best-friend Gerald Johanssen, and Gerald's girlfriend of six months, Phoebe Heyerdahl, who was also one of Lila's closest friends. Not that there hadn't been close calls, though. A few times, Lila had nearly caught him staring at her a second or two too long in English class. He'd managed to convince her that she had a piece of lint on her collar or whatever other excuse he could manufacture, but as Arnold lay in his bed, rerunning the entire course of his eight-year friendship with Lila through his head, _again_, one thought persisted above all others.

_I can't keep this up forever._

Hey Arnold! Hey Arnold! Hey Arnold! Hey Ar-*click*

_Nope_, Arnold thought as he switched off his alarm clock, _not a wink_. After a quick shower, Arnold changed into his favorite blue sweater and plaid undershirt. Despite the rough start, today actually had all the makings of a good day. It was Friday. To be more precise, it was the last Friday before Christmas break. The excitement of a two-week vacation hung in the air as Arnold made his way to his grandpa's green Packard, which he had parked across the street from the boarding house. As he turned the key and felt the engine give a weak tumble before dying completely, he felt his spirits deflate slightly.

_Oh, yeah. Gonna be a _great_ day._

Now running late, Arnold ran to the nearest bus stop and arrived at school with only minutes to spare before first period. As he fumbled with the combination to his locker, he felt a hand softly tap his shoulder.

"Good morning, Arnold!"

There she stood, in the flesh. Lila was every bit as beautiful as the dream version Arnold had encountered just hours before, albeit much more heavily dressed. She wore a brightly colored Christmassy sweater that, like most of her clothing, Arnold suspected that she'd made herself, with loose jeans and some old beat-up sneakers.

"Oh," Arnold yawned, "morning Lila."

Lila regarded him with a concerned expression. "Hey, are you alright? You don't look well."

"I'm fine," he replied, smiling weakly, "I just haven't been getting enough sleep lately."

"Oh," Lila said, though the worry remained on her face. "Listen, I hate to ask you this, but could I maybe get a ride home today? Daddy's working late again and the busses stop running at noon because of the holiday."

"I wish I could, but my grandpa's car broke down this morning. Maybe we could split a cab?"

Lila's eyes widened slightly, and she stared intently at the square of tile at Arnold's feet. "Oh, umm…"

"Or I could walk you home," he added hastily, having momentarily forgotten that Lila was as poor as she was beautiful.

"Gosh, are you sure? That's a long way to go, and you really don't have to."

Arnold smiled in what he hoped was a platonic, endearing way. "I want to. Besides, I have to walk home too. No bus, remember?"

She smiled back. "Thanks, Arnold." Her expression turned from grateful to panicked in a second. "Oh, shoot! I'm late to economics! I'll meet you here at three!"

As Arnold watched Lila sprint away to her first class, he decided that today was the day.

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_A/N: Like it? Hate it? Review!  
_


	3. Chapter 3

_Wow, 2 chapters, 3 days and 0 reviews. Tough crowd. Nevertheless, I've got some more for you today!_

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It wasn't much of a school day, Arnold decided, as he stood by his locker at quarter to three. The teachers were nearly as excited as the students to be off for two weeks, so for five out of six of Arnold's classes, PE being the exception, the day's curriculum was the golden, hallowed set of rules that every student dreams of: sit quietly, and study until the bell.

He was still a bit too early for his appointment with Lila, so Arnold pulled out his cell phone and dialed Gerald, who had the good fortune of having a shortened schedule on Fridays.

"Hey, man, what's up?" Gerald said.

"Not too much. Listen, I forgot to ask you at lunch. Are you and Phoebe still up for bowling tomorrow night?"

"Oh, you _know_ it! We are totally beating Phoebe this time, man."

"Whatever, dude, let me know when you break 100."

Now he'd done it. Gerald's competitiveness was legendary, even amongst the lowly freshmen.

"Man, I already told you! It's those shoes! And you know they don't drill those balls with medium-sized holes, it's like you're screwed unless you're either five years old or the Incredible Hulk. And lemme tell you something about that ball polisher-"

"Jeez, settle down. I was just kidding.""Alright. Listen, did you change your mind about Rhonda's thing next week?""You mean her Christmas ball, or whatever?""Christmas _reunion_ ball, or whatever," corrected Gerald. "Come on, man, even if you can't get a date, you'll get to see the old gang from 118 again."

"Who says I can't get a date?""Right, like you're Don Juan on the dating scene all of a sudden. If it wasn't for that Lila thing you've got, I'd start to wonder if you were into chicks at all…. Wait, you're not thinking of asking _Lila_ are you?"Arnold was taken aback. Was he that transparent? "I was considering it," he said, a little more defensively than he would have liked.

"Man, what part of 'she's not into you' do you not get?""If she says no, then I'm right back where I started." Arnold said simply. "If she says yes, I have a chance of breaking out of the friend zone. I've got nothing to lose. Listen, she'll be here any minute, so I'll talk to you later, ok?"

"Alright, but I'm telling you. Nobody in the history of high school has ever escaped from the friend zone. Nobody."

"Please. Nobody in the history of high school has been _in_ the friend zone longer than me. The way I see it, that gives me the home-field advantage. Here she comes, wish me luck."

"Good luck, Arnold," Gerald said as he flipped his phone shut. "You're going to need it."

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_Come on, guys, review!_


	4. Chapter 4

Lila jogged over to Arnold's locker as he slipped his phone back into his pocket. She was dressed in the same outfit that she wore every winter, a rather beat-up looking green winter jacket with a pair of gloves that had clearly seen better days. There were several discolored patches where Lila had sewn together the many holes that the jacket had sustained over far more years than Arnold suspected that it was intended for.

"Hey, Arnold, are you ready?"

"Yeah, let's go."

Arnold and Lila walked out the doors of Jefferson High, and immediately felt a blast of cold winter air hit them full-force in the face. They both winced and made a few last-minute adjustments with their bundled clothing.

"You ok?" Arnold asked.

"I can take it if you can," Lila replied cheerfully. "Thanks again for walking with me, Arnold, it's very sweet of you."

"No problem, I just wish my car hadn't broken down this morning. We could have both been home in five minutes."

Lila shrugged. "Well, the important thing is that you're here with me."

_Wait, what?_

"I mean, I don't exactly live in the best part of town, and it'll be dark by the time we get to my apartment." Lila's face fell slightly, as it usually did when she talked about where she lived. "It's not safe to be out alone after dark."

_Oh, right._

"Not that you're not good company, though," she added with a smile.

"You're not too bad yourself," Arnold shot back, returning the smile. Lila stifled a chuckle.

"So, did you hear about Rhonda's party on Sunday?"

"That reunion thing she's holding at her country club?" Lila replied, "Yes, I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone again. I even made myself a new dress for the occasion."

"Are you going with anybody?"

Lila stopped walking. "Well, no," she said cautiously, "nobody's asked me."

Arnold pressed further. "Would you maybe want to go with me?"

Lila stood in silence for what felt like hours while she considered the notion. Finally, she turned to face Arnold.

"Okay. Okay, yeah," Lila said steadily, as though to reassure herself, "That sounds like a lot of fun. If you get your car fixed up, you can pick me up at six. Otherwise, I'm sure Daddy can drive us on his way to the airport."

Elation took hold over every fibre of Arnold's being. Only after several lingering seconds on cloud nine did he realize that he was still a participant in the conversation.

"Your dad's taking a trip?"

Lila nodded grimly, "Business. They have him on the road for months sometimes."

"Well, when is he getting back?" Arnold asked, fearing the worst.

"February fourth. No, wait, the sixth."

Arnold winced, his suspicions confirmed. Lila's dad would be away for Christmas, New Year, hell, most of the winter. Arnold kept his expression neutral as he tried very hard not to picture Lila waking up all alone on Christmas morning.

"Oh, God, I'm sorry," said Arnold, inching closer to Lila on the sidewalk. "Do they send him out often?"

She nodded sadly. "Yeah. He's been home for about three weeks now, and that's the most I've seen of him

this year."

"I'm so sorry," he repeated, "that must be horrible."

"Well, I do miss him a lot when he's away, but that just makes me happier when I get to see him again."

That was Lila, Arnold thought. Always looking on the bright side. Not that that philosophy didn't have its downsides. Most high school kids just didn't like being around someone that they considered too nice, or too pretty, or too smart, or too polite, or too optimistic. Unfortunately, most of the girls at Jefferson High saw her as either the same boring Little Miss Perfect that the girls at P.S. 118 had, or as potential competition for boyfriends, and as a result, she didn't have many friends. To make matters worse, she hadn't yet managed to drop her ever-so-unique mannerisms by her freshman year, which gave the popular girls even more ammunition with which to mock her behind her back. And yet, here she was, smiling and laughing as she walked in the withering cold to her tiny hole-in-the-wall apartment, where she would be spending Christmas by herself.

"Almost there now," Lila said serenely. "Oh look, Arnold, the sun's setting! Isn't it pretty?"

As little as Arnold enjoyed describing things as "pretty," he had to agree. The sun had tinged the horizon a brilliant shade of pink, and the surrounding areas a pale orange. The dying sunlight cast its final rays of light over the two teenager's faces as they stood in awe of the breathtaking view. Eventually, though, the painted sky started to dim, and evening cast dark shadows on the desolate streets of the wintry streets of Hillwood. Arnold and Lila continued their journey in silence.

"Well, here we are," said Lila, as they rounded the corner to the tiny brownstone. "Come on inside and warm yourself up for awhile."

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_Hmm... so Lila's made a date with Arnold... wonder how Helga's going to take it..._

_Anyway, after reviewing the ratings system, I've decided to dial back on the adult content (shocking though this story has been thusfar) and rate this story T.  
_

_Review, dang it!  
_


	5. Chapter 5

Lila produced a tiny silver key from her jacket pocket and unlocked the front door, which opened with a resounding creak. Arnold had never actually been inside Lila's apartment before, but he'd given her enough rides home to note the size of the building, and he had guessed that the size of her living space could not possibly be very accommodating.

But he had no way of knowing just how much of an understatement that had been until now.

As Lila led him into the sitting room, Arnold couldn't help but be impressed at the amount of furniture that had been placed into such a tiny space. Although it was about the same size as Arnold's bedroom at Sunset Arms, every inch of the sitting room's walls had a bookcase, china cabinet, or couch resting against it, making the room seem twice as small as it actually was.

"So?" Lila asked. "What do you think?"

"Oh. Well, umm… it's… I mean, it's really very…"

"Cozy?" She offered.

Arnold smiled awkwardly, "Yeah, but it's a nice cozy."

"You can sit down if you want." Lila said, indicating the worn orange couch. Arnold placed his backpack near the front door and sat gingerly on the sofa. He removed his gloves and placed them on the low wooden coffee table in front of him. The table was made as the same type of wood as the floors, and it had likely come with the building, Arnold thought. Resting on its surface were a decorative lantern and a small silver picture frame. The picture showed a young couple holding a familiar-looking toddler of about three years, who was beaming in the young woman's arms.

Lila sat down beside Arnold and picked up the frame to give him a better look. "This picture was taken when we still lived in Pleasantville. That seems like such a long time ago."

"Is that your mom?"

"Yeah, she looked so happy here. That was before she got sick."

"Sick?"

"Cancer. She passed about two years after that picture was taken."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Lila nodded. "I was too. But she went peacefully, and Daddy and I made her as comfortable as we could." She set the picture back down on the coffee table and continued. "Daddy tried to keep up with the farm, but it was just too much work for one person, and he couldn't afford to hire hands, so we moved here when I was nine."

An uncomfortable silence lingered between them for several seconds before Lila spoke again.

"But if all that hadn't happened, I never would have met you, or Gerald, or Phoebe, or Helga. It's not quite the same as having Mom around," Lila said, placing her hand on Arnold's thigh, "but as far as silver linings go, you guys aren't bad."

Arnold struggled to maintain his composure at the casual yet extremely intimate contact between his leg and Lila's hand. If Lila noticed that he was holding his breath, she didn't let on. "I'm really glad you're my friend, Arnold. Do you know that?"

"I'm glad you're my friend too, Lila."

_But that's just not enough anymore._

Arnold turned to face Lila, and he put his hand over the one Lila had placed on his leg. This was the moment he'd been waiting for, the chance to tell her how he really felt, how he'd never been able to stop loving her, and how he'd stopped wanting to try. He took a deep breath. "Lila…"

At that moment, the front door swung open, and a tall, heavily-built man with dark auburn hair entered the room, dropping his briefcase near Arnold's backpack. Lila removed her hand from Arnold's thigh as though she'd been burned. "Hi, Daddy! I want you to meet Arnold, he walked me home from school today."

"Oh, so _this_ is Arnold," said Mr. Sawyer, with a wry grin. "Lila talks about you all the time. I feel like I've known you for years. You two set a date yet?"

"Daddy!" Lila cried, turning a bright shade of pink.

"Oh relax, Princess, he knows I'm just joking." He hadn't. "Want a ride home, kiddo? It's mighty cold out there."

"Sure," Arnold replied, "I'd really appreciate it. See you on Sunday, Lila!"

"Bye, Arnold," Lila said, with a slight note of sadness that could not escape Arnold's notice.

Arnold followed Mr. Sawyer into his car and they drove off into the chilly winter night.

"So, you're seeing Lila on Sunday?"

"Yes sir. I'm taking her to a Christmas dance that our friend from elementary school is holding."

"Hm. That sounds like fun," Mr. Sawyer said, stopping in front of an orange light that Arnold was fairly certain that Mr. Sawyer could have caught before it changed. He turned to Arnold and looked directly into his eyes. "Just don't have _too _much fun. You catch my meaning?"

"Y-yeah," said Arnold, relieved that Mr. Sawyer had pulled up in front of the boarding house, "We're just going as friends."

"Alright, then," replied Mr. Sawyer, apparently satisfied. "Have a good one, Arnold."

"You too, Mr. Sawyer."

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_There's some conflict coming up in the next chapter, so stay tuned! Also, that whole reviewing thing. Do it, and so forth, etc._


	6. Chapter 6

**StarvingWriterMaeve-** Ends up? Oh, don't worry, we've got a LONG ways to go before this story is over. The dance is just the first act, so to speak.

**Acosta Peres Jose Ramiro-** I intend to.

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Saturday morning saw Arnold lying awake in his bed, rubbing his eyes with the palm of his hand. He was beginning to notice dark rings around his eyes. From now on, he decided, even if he couldn't sleep, he would at least try to keep his eyes shut. He spent most of the remainder of the day slipping in and out of consciousness, just taking little catnaps where he could get them, and surrendering to the soft, warm embrace of sleep…

"Arnold!"

Arnold woke with a start to see Gerald staring expectantly at him.

"You're up, man."

Arnold squinted at him for several seconds before the clatter of hard plastic pins reminded him of where he was. Phoebe walked over to the pair holding Arnold's rented bowling ball.

"Jeez, Arnold, are you still nodding off?"

Arnold nodded. "I just haven't been sleeping well lately, that's all."

"Well snap out of it," said Phoebe, "I want you to be completely awake when I stomp the both of you!"

"Baby, you're only ahead by sixty," Gerald said, "I mean, yeah, it's the last frame, but I feel a second wind coming on."

"Don't you 'baby' me, buddy boy." Phoebe snapped back, punctuating each word with a hard poke into Gerald's chest, "You promised if I beat you I'd get one of your patented full-body massages."

Arnold gave a quizzical smirk to Gerald, who shrugged sheepishly.

"What can I say, baby, a deal's a deal."

Arnold and Gerald struggled valiantly through the last frame, but to no avail, as Phoebe's 220 still beat 180, the combined total of the two boys' scores. Feigning dejection at this turn of events, Gerald collected the rented shoes and returned them to the front desk while Arnold pulled the car around to the entrance.

Back at Gerald's house, Arnold sat with Gerald and Phoebe on the large couch in the den, where they discussed their Christmas plans. Gerald would be spending Christmas with some family in Chicago, while Phoebe would be staying in Hillwood with her parents. Eventually, the topic of Rhonda's party came up.

"So I forgot to ask you," Gerald said, "what ever happened with Lila?"

Phoebe froze. "Lila?"

"Yeah," Gerald said, "Arnold asked her to the party."

"Oh," she replied nervously, "Well, Arnold? What did she say?"

"She said yes," Arnold replied with a wide grin. "Now for the hard part."

"Getting to the next level?" Gerald asked.

Arnold nodded. "Everything's got to go perfectly."

"Want to ride in our limo?" Gerald suggested.

"Nah, I figure it'd be better if I drove her. At least then I can apologize if I embarrass myself too badly."

"Good plan," Gerald said, rolling his eyes.

"Do you have any ideas, Phoebe?" Arnold asked hopefully, "I mean, you're her best friend, right?"

She didn't answer.

"Phoebe? You ok?"

Phoebe had turned pale, and her hands were shaking. "I'm fine," she replied flatly, turning to face Arnold. Her expression was blank and terrifying. "You want some advice? Like, you want me to tell you what turns her on so you can have an easier time of it? Is that it?"

Arnold, who had keen enough instincts to recognize murder when it sat mere inches from his face, replied, "P-Phoebe, it's not like that-"

"Then what is it like?" Phoebe leapt out of the couch and pinned Arnold's shoulders down, forcing him back onto the cushions. "What exactly is it like? Because it sounds to me like you're asking me the best way to manipulate my friend into a relationship she doesn't seem to want!"

Gerald, stunned at Phoebe's outburst until now, grabbed Phoebe and pried her off Arnold, dragging her into the den and shutting the door behind them. Seconds later, it flew open again and Phoebe shouted, "You want some free advice about Lila? She really doesn't like it when guys ask her friends how to get into her pants!"

The door slammed shut. Arnold sat in stunned silence. Phoebe had never acted that way before. She'd always been a bit high-strung, and her long friendship with Helga had given her a bit of a tomboyish streak, but she'd never gone as far as exploding like this. Arnold listened through the closed door. He heard Phoebe's muffled yelling and what he assumed was Gerald trying to calm her down. Arnold couldn't understand what had set Phoebe off in the first place. She'd known him for years. Surely she couldn't think he was asking her for the fast track into Lila's bed.

_But you _were_, weren't you? Maybe you weren't thinking of it, but it's really what you want, isn't it?_

Arnold pondered this new notion, ashamed by his own thoughts. No, he decided. He was definitely attracted to more than Lila's body. Not that he hadn't ever considered it. Lila was, after all, a beautiful single teenage girl, and he was a love-struck teenage boy, but he'd never thought of her as the kind of girl that would want to sleep with a guy on the first date. What was more, he wasn't the type of guy that would want to sleep with a girl on the first date. Good relationships weren't based purely on sex, he reasoned. If a man truly loved a woman, he'd be patient enough to wait until she was ready. Of course, all this well-reasoned philosophy was purely academic, as Lila didn't even know he was still crazy about her.

Gerald opened the door after what seemed like hours. Phoebe didn't follow him, but Arnold heard her crying softly from inside the den before Gerald gently closed the door behind him and walked over to the couch. He wore a haggard expression, and at that moment Arnold would have guessed him to be at least ten years older than he was. He sat down next to Arnold and buried his face into his hands.

"Look, Gerald, you've got to believe that I didn't mean-"

Gerald held his hand up. "I know that. You're my best friend, Arnold, you don't have to explain yourself to me."

"Well what was Phoebe so mad about?"

"Listen, what happened with Phoebe… it wasn't your fault. At least, not in the way you're thinking."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm sorry, man. I can't tell you any more. She made me put it in the vault," he said, pointing to his temple.

"So what now?"

Gerald looked straight into Arnold's eyes. "I'll tell you what now. Go home, get some sleep. Tomorrow, you take Lila to that dance, and you seal the deal, ok?"

"Easier said than done."

"It's only as hard as you make it," Gerald shrugged, "I see the way you two act around each other. I wouldn't be surprised if she actually like-likes you a little bit. Just be smooth, man. Like Lando Calrissian."

Arnold regarded Gerald with a raised eyebrow. "I don't think I can pull that off, Gerald."

"Then be yourself. I'm sorry, dude, but you're on your own on this one."

"It's alright. Listen, can you just tell Phoebe I'm sorry?"

"You got it, buddy."

"And I'm sorry you're not getting any tonight."

"That," Gerald replied, "is a matter of opinion."

"Jesus, Gerald, are you serious? She's a wreck in there."

"Let me tell you something, man. Nothing, and I mean _nothing_ helps my special lady feel better than Gerald Johanssen's magic fingers."

"Alright, dude, that's a _little _more information than I needed." Arnold said, walking to the front door. "See you two tomorrow night."

"Remember, Arnold, seal the deal."

"What's gotten you so optimistic all of a sudden?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I mean I've been chasing after Lila for eight years now, and you're always the one telling me to give up on her."

"It's… complicated."

"That's it? 'It's complicated?'"

"Sorry, that's it."

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_So Phoebe's pissed, Gerald's acting weird, and the peanut is neither a pea, nor a nut. Discuss. I mean, review._


	7. Chapter 7

**acosta perez jose ramiro- **It'll make more sense in the chapter after next.

**StarvingWriterMaeve**- As I said above, the Phoebe weirdness will be explained. Until then, here's a brand spanking new chapter!

* * *

Sunday. Judgment day. Arnold woke at three o'clock in the morning and crawled out of bed at ten, exhausted. These sleepless nights were starting to take their toll on Arnold. He'd never had so many Lila dreams in a month, much less in a single week. The strain on his body and mind was such that he had trouble walking downstairs to have breakfast. When he returned to his bedroom to change, he was so exhausted that he passed out on the bed.

He stirred groggily a few hours later, still not fully rested but in much better condition mentally. He looked over at the clock. Four o'clock. He still had two hours to get ready and pick Lila up. Grateful to finally receive a lucky break, Arnold showered quickly and put on the suit that he'd laid out the night before. It wasn't elaborate, Arnold admitted to himself, just a plain black suit with a white shirt and a red tie for some festive color. Fully dressed and with plenty of time to spare, Arnold sat on his bed, reached towards his night table and pulled open the drawer. Reaching inside, he produced a long, thin strip of film separated into four panels, which depicted Arnold and Lila at the age of nine. The first three panels showed Lila making faces at the camera while Arnold looked away, disinterested. These pictures were taken before Arnold realized his feelings towards Lila. They were nice, but ultimately held no significance other than serving as a constant reminder of Arnold's stupidity. The fourth panel, though, was among his most prized possessions. It depicted Lila kissing Arnold on the cheek while he cringed and tried to pull away. It was the first and only time Lila had ever kissed him, and it was a moment that Arnold would have traded everything he owned to relive. The cheap strip of film was in remarkably good condition, considering its age, but it was still delicate, and had to be treated with the greatest of care. Tonight, Arnold decided, he would keep it with him, as a lucky charm. He pulled out his wallet, and with the delicacy and care of a safe-cracker, he gently lowered the film into the wallet and closed it, taking great care not to crease the strip.

_Well, if you're still going to do this, now's the time._

Arnold walked out to the Packard, which was now running somewhat more smoothly than normal. The battery was shot, but Arnold and his grandfather had spend the better part of Saturday morning attempting to fix it, but they eventually just replaced it to save themselves the headache. Arnold pulled up in front of the Sawyer's apartment at a quarter to six. He waited in the car for several minutes, taking deep breaths in an effort to calm himself down enough to open the car door. Everything depended on tonight. If it wasn't absolutely perfect, if anything at all went wrong… he'd be back where he started with Lila. Then he'd have the rest of the year to torture himself until he and Lila went off to different colleges, and that would be that. Eventually he'd either forget about her or drive himself insane. With these awful prospects as motivation, he swung open the car door and walked briskly towards the front door and knocked.

Mr. Sawyer answered the door, dressed in a relatively snappy-looking suit.

"Hi, Mr. Sawyer, is Lila ready?"

"Come on in," said Mr. Sawyer, "she's just getting ready inside."

Arnold followed Mr. Sawyer into the tiny sitting room. Mr. Sawyer sat at the orange couch where Arnold and Lila had been sitting just two days earlier. Arnold sat at the opposite end of the low wooden coffee table in a small wooden chair.

"Lila," Mr. Sawyer called, "Arnold's here!"

Lila's answer came from the wooden door behind Mr. Sawyer, "Just a minute, Daddy!"

Mr. Sawyer regarded Arnold carefully. "Hey, Arnold?"

"Yessir?"

Mr. Sawyer chuckled softly, "You don't have to keep calling me sir. Come on now, don't be so nervous, you'll do fine."

Arnold laughed awkwardly. Unfortunately, while the tension in the room had eased somewhat, Arnold's nerves had not, and he maintained his white-knuckled grip on the arms of the chair, trying to keep his breathing steady.

"You know, I was only half-kidding the other day," he continued, "she really does talk about you all the time. I've got a good feeling about you, kid. You've got good eyes."

"Good eyes?" Arnold repeated, confused.

Mr. Sawyer brandished his index finger, "Good eyes. You don't see them too often in this city."

"So what does that mean?"

He shrugged. "Means I trust you enough not to read you the riot act for taking my only daughter to a dance with no chaperones, for starters, and I don't think you're the type to… take advantage of my absence, so to speak."

"You can tell all that from my eyes?"

"Well, your eyes, the way you carry yourself, the way you're shaking like a chihuahua … all that stuff. It's instinct. Call it a fatherly intuition. Of course, it goes without saying that if I'm wrong about you, and you break my little girl's heart there'll be hell to pay, we clear son?"

"Crystal," Arnold replied quickly.

"Good. Anyway, Arnold. Lila… I mean… what I'm trying to say is…" Mr. Sawyer gesticulated wildly, as though he were trying to physically grab the words he needed from the aether. "I don't know if you know this, but Lila's mom passed away around Christmas, and she's been feeling a little down today. She's been looking forward to this dance for awhile, but… just… understand if she's not feeling herself tonight, ok?"

"Of course," Arnold replied, feeling a deep and powerful dread rise within him. Everything had to be perfect. Tonight was officially a wash. Arnold would never be able to tell Lila how he felt with her mother's death hanging over the evening's festivities.

Mr. Sawyer gave a relieved sigh and sank back into the couch. "Thanks, Arnold. This time of year is really rough on her, and I just want her to be happy, y'know?"

Happy. He wanted her to be happy.

Arnold felt a wave of hot shame wash over him. He'd been so concerned with his desire to have Lila as his girlfriend that he'd completely forgotten about what she wanted, what she needed. She needed a friend tonight. Arnold had played that role begrudgingly in the past, but Mr. Sawyer's simple statement made him accept the responsibility in earnest.

"Yeah… I know," he replied honestly.

At that moment, the door to Lila's room slowly creaked open. Lila stepped out of the doorway and into the pale light of the sitting room. She was wearing an elegant green dress with red open-toed shoes. Her brilliant red hair flowed past her shoulders. All in all, Arnold decided, she looked strikingly beautiful, and he was on his feet in a second to meet her. Lila walked over to Arnold, reached out her hand, placed it under his chin, and with a smile, closed his jaw with an audible _click_.

"So, how do I look?"

"Amazing," said Arnold and Mr. Sawyer in unison.

"Alright," said Mr. Sawyer, "I won't keep you two. Just make sure you get back by midnight, ok? They're predicting a heck of a storm tonight."

"Ok, Daddy." Lila threw her arms around her father and gave him a hug that lasted for at least a full minute. "I'm gonna miss you," she whispered into his ear.

"I'll miss you too, hon," he whispered back, "just try to have some fun tonight, ok? She'd want you to be happy."

"I know, Daddy."

Feeling very awkward at this point, Arnold feigned fascination with the ceiling. Although Lila and her father had moved to the other side of the room, they were still only a few feet away from Arnold, and he could hear every word of their private conversation as clearly as if they were speaking directly into his ear.

Finally, the father and daughter broke off their embrace.

"Are you ready, Arnold?" Lila asked.

"Yeah, we should get going."

"Remember Arnold," Mr. Sawyer said, "Midnight."

"Gotcha. I hope your trip goes well."

With that, Arnold took Lila by the arm and walked her out to the car.

* * *

_Okay, updates from here on out may be a bit more sporadic than my one-a-day postings so far. The reason is that I had chapters 1-7 pre-written before I started posting them up, and I've been editing them one at a time. Chapter 8 is the longest one yet (over 2600 words) and it's not finished yet, so I estimate a few days on that, but maybe sooner, so check back as often as you please. _

_In Soviet Russia, fic reviews you!  
_


	8. Chapter 8

**Jose- **Yeah, but he's her dad. If there's any romance going down, it's his fatherly duty to spoil it one way or another. Don't look at me, man, I don't make the rules.

**Gotapenname- **Glad you're enjoying it so far. The slow buildup was intentional, but after this chapter things will pick up in pace a little, then slow down a LOT, then pick up again towards the end. And who the hell knows, it might actually be good reading, too.

_Ok, guys, sorry I was so late on this one. You clearly can't trust me to set my own deadlines. This chapter ended up being four times as long as any of the others, and I imagine it will have been one of the hardest to write. Hopefully it'll be easier to read, but as I spent all of three minutes editing it, I doubt it. Nevertheless, enjoy!_

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* * *

_

The half-hour car ride to the country club was largely uneventful, with the silence between Arnold and Lila only occasionally interrupted by idle conversation. Arnold didn't mind, though. For one thing, he knew that Lila had other things on her mind than their date, and for another, over the long years of his friendship with Lila, he'd grown to appreciate just being in her company.

By the time they pulled up to the parking lot, it was already dark. Arnold stepped out of the car and held the passenger door open for Lila. Together, they walked through the decorative entranceway and into the clubhouse. The immediate impression that Arnold had was that, at least for tonight, this place was less country and a lot more club. The second that Arnold opened the front door, his eardrums were assaulted by deafeningly loud house music with a bass beat so powerful that the pictures hanging on the walls were shaking in time to the rhythm.

Lila yelled something incomprehensible to Arnold, who was forced to hold his ear less than an inch away from Lila's mouth simply to be able to hear "Are you sure this is the right place?"

Lila's question was promptly answered by Rhonda Wellington Lloyd, who appeared in a nearby doorway. She was dressed in jeans, with a loose-fitting tee-shirt, in stark contrast with Lila and Arnold's formal attire. Rhonda rushed towards the pair and gave them each a hug and a brief kiss on the cheek.

"Arnold, dear, it's so wonderful to see you," she drawled, "and Lila darling, you look amazing! You two are a bit overdressed, though."

"You said it was a ball, Rhonda." Arnold replied, still reeling from the noise.

"And this is a country club," Lila added.

Rhonda shrugged. "Hm. Yeah, that's pretty much what everyone else said, too. Come on in. You're the last ones here."

Rhonda led them into a large ballroom. Tables were laid out on either side of the room, with a large dance floor in the center. Arnold noticed that there were far more people dancing than were in their circle of friends from PS 118.

Taking notice of Arnold's confusion, Rhonda yelled, "Sorry, Arnold. I don't _do_ small parties! I had to bring a few friends from my _private_ high school!"

Looking more closely at the crowd on the dance floor, Arnold noticed that he didn't recognize the vast majority of the teenagers that were grinding against each other. What was more, they were all dressed in the same casual manner as Rhonda. Casting his glance to the tables on the left, he spied a group of boys from PS 118, all dressed in suits, with the exception of Sid, who for some reason had come dressed in a leather trench coat.

The girls were standing around the tables on the right, all wearing dresses and talking amongst each other excitedly. Arnold turned to Lila, who shrugged and shouted, "I guess I'll see you a little later." Then, taking notice of Arnold's disappointed countenance, she added, "I'll save a dance for you, Arnold. I promise." She gave him one last lingering glance before walking off to join the other girls. As sorely let down as he was, Arnold knew it was for the best. Talking with the other girls would be a good way to raise her spirits, he reasoned. Besides, he had some mingling of his own to do.

Walking to the left side of the room, Arnold spotted Gerald laughing uproariously with a few of the other boys. Arnold walked up to join them.

"Hey, everybody, Arnold's here!" Gerald announced, to the general excitement of the old gang. "Man, you've got to hear this. Hey Sid! Tell Arnold where you're working!"

Sid looked slightly embarrassed, but he yelled back, "Construct-A-Critter!"

Arnold stared incredulously at Sid, trying to picture the gangly, slick-haired teenager helping small children stuff plush bears full of "love-fluff." He tried to keep a straight face, but quickly failed, grabbing Gerald's shoulder to keep his balance as he doubled over with laughter. "Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up!" Sid said, smiling good-naturedly.

Arnold spent the next few hours reminiscing with the rest of the gang. Eventually, the music shifted from the excruciatingly loud club anthems to a much quieter and more subdued slow dance song. Startled by the sudden change, Arnold and the other boys glanced toward the DJ booth where, instead of the impossibly skinny tattooed disk jockey that had been selecting songs for the evening, Stinky Peterson inexplicably stood, grinning broadly and giving the boys the thumbs up.

Gerald, who had been chatting disinterestedly with Harold about the merits of organic brisket versus free-range, quickly ran to the other side of the room, grabbed Phoebe and started dancing in the center of the room. The others quickly followed suit, taking their dates and slowly rocking to the gentle rhythm of Stinky's pre-selected tunes. Rhonda's friends, clearly uninterested in slow dancing, sat at the tables and watched the couples on the floor.

Arnold, meanwhile, was busy looking for Lila, who was nowhere to be found. He managed to track down Sheena and Nadine moments before their dates whisked them off to the dance floor. Sheena mentioned that she'd seen Lila go upstairs about a half hour ago while she, Sheena, was taking a smoke break outside. After thanking her quickly, Arnold left the ballroom and made his way to the main corridor where he and Lila had entered the country club. On the opposite end of the hall was a staircase, leading up to a darkened second floor. Arnold cautiously ascended the staircase, suddenly wary of having followed Sheena's advice. The second floor was quite dark and clearly not open for guests, but Arnold's concern for his date outweighed his fear of getting caught, at least for the moment. He carefully navigated the unlit corridors until he spied a crack of dim light pouring out from behind a closed door at the end of the hall. He silently crept up to the door and placed his ear against it. He heard the unmistakable sound of stifled sobs in the room on the other side. Lila was crying, Arnold realized with a start. In all the time Arnold had known her, Lila had only cried once, and that had been nearly eight years ago. Throwing caution to the winds, Arnold knocked on the door, waited a few seconds for Lila to compose herself enough to speak, then said, "Lila, it's me. Can I come in?"

There was no response for several agonizing seconds, but eventually the door unlocked and slowly creaked open. Arnold entered the room to find Lila standing by the door, her eyes bright red and brimming with fresh tears.

"What's wrong?" Arnold asked, shutting the door behind him and locking it just in case.

Lila didn't respond, but as soon as Arnold had finished locking the door, she threw her arms around him and held him in a tight embrace, burying her face in his chest. Arnold, unsure of how to react, cautiously wrapped his arms around Lila, rubbing her back soothingly. They stood there for several minutes, the silence only occasionally punctuated by the soft, heartbreaking sound of Lila's crying. Arnold took a moment to take in the room's conservative décor. A spacious leather couch sat on the far end of the room, facing a large window at the opposite end. The only sources of light in the room were the Christmas lights which decorated the large tree that sat just to the right of the couch. The overall effect was dazzling, Arnold thought, if a bit too dark.

After a long while, Lila began breathing at a normal steady rate, albeit a bit more raggedly than usual.

"You still miss her a lot," Arnold said softly, "don't you?"

He felt her nod her head against his chest. "I- I thought it wouldn't hurt as much after so long," she explained tearfully, "Daddy always said it'd get better with time, but…"

"But it ends up hurting even more." Arnold finished for her. He felt another nod. "The truth is, it never stops hurting, Lila. I still miss my grandma every day since she died, and I still miss my parents. Sometimes, I feel like I can't even get out of bed in the morning."

Lila peeked her head from Arnold's chest. "So how do you deal with it?"

Arnold thought for a moment, "Well… I heard once that as long as you remember someone, a part of that person lives on with you. I know, it sounds a little hokey, but it always made me feel a little better, like I was keeping them alive by thinking about them, even though it hurt."

Lila tried her best to approximate a smile, and Arnold squeezed her gently before pulling away.

"My legs are getting a bit tired," he explained, "would you mind if we sat down?"

"Sure."

Arnold walked Lila to the couch and sat, while Lila opted to lie on it, resting her head on Arnold's shoulder. Arnold put his arm around her, holding her closer to him. For some reason, this new intimate contact came naturally to him now, the awkward shyness that had haunted him for years had been replaced by a serene confidence that assured him that Lila needed to be held right now.

"I'm really sorry, Arnold," Lila whispered.

"Sorry about what?" Arnold asked, suddenly feeling a very strong sense of déjà vu.

Lila lifted her right hand and pointed to the wet spots that her tears and running nose had created on his jacket. "Your suit, I'm ruining it."Arnold just smiled and rested his cheek on Lila's head. "I don't care about the suit," he said simply, "I care about you." They sat in silence for a long time thereafter. Lila seemed to have stopped crying for now, and her breathing had returned to normal, with only the occasional sniffle interrupting her cadence.

"Hey, Arnold?"

"Yeah?"

"Well… stop me if I'm getting too personal, but your parents aren't… well… I mean, they're still alive, aren't they? Phoebe told me once that they were doing missionary work in the jungle, right? They could still be there now, couldn't they?"

"I don't know," Arnold sighed, "but it's been so long, and they've never contacted me… it just doesn't seem realistic to keep hoping sometimes, y'know?"

"Yeah," Lila replied, "I know." And at that moment, Arnold knew that she really did. In a way, her whole life was about hoping against hope. Hoping that her father would be able to spend more time with her, hoping that she'd make a new friend at school, hoping that her mother's passing would make her heart hurt just a little less…

"So what do you remember about them?" Lila asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You said that you keep your parents' memory alive by remembering them. What do you remember?"

"Well, they left when I was really little," Arnold began, "so I don't have much, but I do remember that my mom used to sing me to sleep sometimes… it was always the same song, too. My grandpa could never get me to go to bed after they left because I couldn't sleep without hearing it." He chuckled to himself, "It's silly, I know the melody by heart but I don't even know the name of the song."

"Really? Nobody at the boarding house knew either?"

"I never told anybody at the boarding house. You're the first person I've ever told about this."

"Can I hear it?"

"Pardon?"

"You said you knew the melody by heart. Can you hum it or something? Maybe I've heard it before."

"I don't know…"

"Arnold, you already told me the story, what are you afraid of?"

_She has a fair point there_, Arnold thought. "Ok, let's see…"

He closed his eyes, cleared his throat and began to hum softly. The slow, haunting melody filled the small, dark room until Arnold felt himself tearing up and stopped. "I'm sorry… that's all I can do. Well?"

"It… sounds a lot like… no, that's silly," she said.

"You've heard of it?" Arnold asked excitedly.

"Well, it sounds like _Close to You_ by the Carpenters, but you must have heard that before."

"The who?"

"The Carpenters," Lila explained, "They were really popular in the seventies. _Close to You_ is one of their most famous songs. Have you really never heard of them?"

"Nope," Arnold said.

"…can I sing it for you?"

"You don't have to do that, Lila."

The young redhead turned her head and looked straight into Arnold's eyes. "I want to. Arnold, you're always so sweet to me. And… I know I don't deserve all the nice things you do for me, but I never get to do anything for you. Please, can I? Just this once?"

Arnold couldn't very well refuse a request like that, and so he finally relented, to Lila's delight.

"Put your head on my lap." Lila said.

"Why?"

"Your mom used to sing you to sleep this way," she said, "I thought you'd like it more if you were lying down."

Not about to argue at this point, Arnold laid back on the couch and put his head in Lila's soft, inviting lap. When Lila was convinced that he was sufficiently comfortable, she leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "Close your eyes."

Once they were shut, Lila started to sing.

"_Why do birds suddenly appear… every time… you are near? Just like me, they long to be close to you."_

The melody wasn't perfect, as Lila's voice still hadn't fully recovered from her crying jag, but Arnold knew that there was no mistaking it; this was the song. And Lila was singing it for him.

"_Why do stars fall down from the sky… every time… you walk by? Just like me, they long to be close to you."_

Arnold felt Lila's fingers running through his hair, then across his cheek. Arnold was fighting very hard to keep calm. Part of him wanted to end this exquisite agony right now, but another part wanted it to never end. He'd never felt so loved and safe in his entire life.

"_On the day that you were born, the angels got together… and decided to create a dream come true. So they sprinkled moondust in your hair and golden starlight in your eyes of blue…"_

"_That is why… all the girls in town… follow you… all around… just like me, they long to be close to you."_

Lila hummed the final part of the melody and the room was silent again, to Arnold's relief. The combination of Lila's tender ministrations and her soft, melodious voice had been almost too much for him to bear. He felt Lila lean towards his head, place her lips on his crown and lay a feather-soft kiss on top of his head.

_This is it_, Arnold thought. _Something has to give _now.

"I love you."

Arnold felt Lila freeze in place, hovering over the spot on his head that she'd just kissed. He slowly removed himself from Lila's lap and raised himself to an upright position so that he could face her. She looked like nothing so much as a deer caught in headlights.

"W-what did you say?"

"I said I love you, Arnold." Lila said, though her expression remained stiff and petrified. "I don't know why I said it, though. I shouldn't have said that."

"Did you mean it?"

She furrowed her eyebrows, looking deeply offended. "Of course I meant it."

"I'm sorry, it's just that… I had no idea. I mean, I'd always hoped, but… how long have you felt this way?"

"Awhile now," Lila sighed, leaning her head against Arnold's shoulder again, "Do you remember that day at the flagpole?"

Indeed he did.

_It had been a breezy day last June, and the seniors were relishing their last weeks before college. According to what Arnold had been able to piece together from Phoebe after the fact, Lila had been showering in the locker room after P.E. when a group of senior girls had broken into her locker and absconded with the redhead's most intimate undergarments. As fate would have it, this was the day that Lila had chosen to wear a skirt roughly one inch higher than her usual fit. Either event on its own was manageable, if a bit embarrassing, but taken together, and exacerbated by the high winds whipping across campus, they made for a catastrophe. Lila had spent the rest of the day waddling from class to class, sitting at her desk with her legs locked together to prevent anyone from staring. At the end of the day, Arnold found her standing underneath the school flagpole looking skyward, her face bright red. Arnold had followed her gaze and noticed that the girls who had stolen her panties had spray painted them red and blue and tied them to the top of the pole, where they were dangling in the breeze. Lila looked to Arnold. She didn't say a word, but her expression sent the message loud and clear._

_"Help me"_

_With no further thought, he climbed up the pole and, taking great care not to look down, shimmied to the top, untied her underwear and slid down, to the hoots and cheers of the onlooking students._

_"Ignore them," he said, walking her over to some bushes in the distance. He stopped a few meters and let her go behind the bushes to put her stolen panties back on. She returned a few moments later, looking shaken but otherwise much better for her wear. She walked up to Arnold, threw her arms around him, whispered "Thank you" into his ear, and walked away._

"Yeah," Arnold replied "I remember."

"That was the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me. Then I started to think about it… you're always helping me and being a good friend to me, even though…"

"Even though what?"

"Please don't be angry, but I know you still have feelings for me."

Arnold felt his heart plummet within his chest. "Oh."

"I've known for awhile now," she continued, "but I couldn't bring myself to tell you how I felt about you…"

"Why not?"

"Because of what I'd risk by going out with you."

Arnold stared back at Lila, utterly perplexed. He'd known girls were complicated beings, but not on such a level that mere dating was risky business.

"I don't understand," he replied.

Lila smiled sadly and stroked his cheek with the back of her hand. "You will… you will."

"Does that mean…"

"Yeah, if you're willing to give me a second chance," Lila said.

"You? I'm the one who screwed it up in the first place."

"Is that what you think?" Lila asked. Arnold nodded. "Arnold, the reason it didn't work out in the first place was because we didn't _love_ each other back then. If you hadn't broken it off when you did, I might never have grown to feel the way I do about you now."

"Really?"

"Of course! And it took a lot of courage to tell me that you didn't like-like me. I never forgot that. It's one of the reasons I like you so much. That's sort of what I was saying before… You're always doing what you think is right, no matter what it takes or how much it hurts you inside. In a lot of ways, you've grown into a better man than anyone I've ever known."Arnold prayed that Lila couldn't see him blush in the dark.

"And you're pretty cute, too," she added with a wink.

"So what do you have to lose by going out with me?"

Lila's face fell. "A lot. Almost everything that matters to me."

"Almost?"

"Well," she replied matter-of-factly, "I'll still have you."

"You know, my grandpa told me once that sometimes, if you really want to do something, you don't worry about the risk, you just do it, and let the consequences worry about themselves."

"That's so sweet! Is that how he worked up the courage to ask your grandmother to marry him or something?"

Arnold rubbed the back of his neck, "Actually, he locked himself out of the bathroom and tried to blow the door open with dynamite."

Lila snorted into her hand. Arnold started chuckling softly with her and soon their peals of laughter echoed through the dark room. They laughed in the darkness until their sides burned and their lungs ached, and they kept laughing long after the humor of the anecdote had faded.

"So," Arnold said, after calming down a bit, "how do you feel now?"

"Better,' Lila replied, still laughing softly, "and really, really sick."

"Yeah, I feel like I just got off a roller-coaster ride."

"Please, Arnold, don't mention roller-coasters…"

"Do you feel well enough to dance? You do still owe me one, remember?"

"Wouldn't miss it. I hope Stinky's still picking the songs, though."

"Me too, but whatever they're playing down there, it's quiet enough that we can't hear it, so that's a good sign. Come on, let's go."

Arnold rose gingerly from the couch and walked out of the dark room with Lila. As they made their way back to the main ballroom, they noticed that Stinky was indeed still on the turntables, to their collective satisfaction. The overall activity had died down somewhat, as the dance floor was empty. The 118 crew had isolated themselves to a few tables, while Rhonda's friends occupied the remainder of them.

"Looks like we're too late," Lila said sadly.

"Like hell we are. We've both been waiting for this for way too long. There's music playing and a dance floor. Let's just go."

Lila grinned back at him. "That's the spirit. Let me just get rid of these shoes." She slipped them off quickly and ran to Phoebe, who whispered inaudibly into Lila's ear and placed her shoes under her chair for safekeeping. Her task completed, Lila made her way towards Arnold, who was waiting at the entrance.

Arnold walked Lila to the center of the dance floor and placed his arms around Lila's waist, while she placed hers around his neck. Together, they swayed gently to the slow dance music. After a few moments, Arnold moved his head closer to Lila's and whispered into her ear, "So does this mean you're my girlfriend now?"

"I don't know," she whispered back playfully, "maybe if you asked me all nice-like..."

She always _did_ know how to push his buttons, Arnold thought to himself. Fortunately, his long sleepless nights had left him with plenty of time to think about what to say in just this situation. He leaned in again.

"Lila Sawyer," he began slowly, "I'm crazy about you, and I don't think I can live without you anymore. Will you be my girlfriend?"

"Arnold, that was the corniest thing I've ever heard…"

He smiled. "You love it."

"Yeah," she replied, unable and unwilling to play hard-to-get any longer "I do. And I love _you. _Of course I'll be your girlfriend."

And just like that, it was over. Eight years of pining and heartache resolved in a single night. Arnold was on top of the world. He pulled back slightly, so that he was facing Lila directly, their noses almost touching. He reached out, brushed her bangs away from her face, closed his eyes and kissed her, as he'd done in so many of his dreams. Unlike in his dreams, however, this time Lila kissed back. There was no tongue, no fancy technique from either of them, but there wasn't a need for it. There was raw passion, and that was all that mattered. Arnold felt Lila's knees weaken slightly, and he redoubled his grip on her waist to steady her. Soon, they ran out of breath and broke off from each other. As they came around from their euphoria, they noticed bright flashes of light in all directions. Nearly every person in the room had taken out their cell phones or cameras and was on their feet taking pictures of the newly-formed couple. A few of Rhonda's friends were even applauding them. Arnold looked through the crowd and saw Gerald raising his glass in Arnold's general direction.

"Willikers," said Stinky over the loudspeakers.

Taking that as their cue, Arnold and Lila walked quickly out of the room to avoid the collective attention of a crowd that included no less than 15 gossips and rumormongers. Together, they made their way back to the dark room on the second floor and laid down on the couch next to each other, and, without another word, fell asleep in each others arms.

* * *

_And no, the story's not over yet. Not even close. If you notice any errors due to my crappy editing, please let me know. Otherwise, I'll be working on the next chapter. I can't say when it'll be done, but I'm not going to stop writing this story until it's done, so don't worry about that. _

_EDIT: Ok, so far I've noticed that due to formatting issues, several pieces of dialogue were spliced together. I THINK I've corrected it. And I've also italicized the flagpole story to distinguish it from the story proper.  
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_Do you like it? Do you hate it? Just a reminder, I do accept flames so long as they're well-reasoned. I really feel like I'll need at least one solid hate-review before I'll consider this chapter/story a success, people! Don't let me down!  
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	9. Chapter 9

_OK, so this one took awhile. Sorry about that, I've been really busy lately, more so than is regular. If it makes you all feel any better, I was thinking about how to write this chapter nearly the whole time since I last updated, so it's not like I forgot about it or anything. As I've waited nearly a month since I last updated this, I'm not going to take any more time with this A/N than is absolutely necessary so I can post the chapter quicker. That being said, reviews!_

**Peterdm89- **_Glad you're liking it. As I've told you, this is not really a story about sex, but I may throw in a scene or two in later, and it's not going to be crucial to the story._

**Cross951- **_Yeah, people like you are the reason I started this story. It's really criminal that only one or two fics on this site pair Arnold with Lila, but people really DO hate the pairing. A LOT. I'm not going to pretend to understand it, but I'll do my best to represent the rare few A/L shippers out there.  
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**Superbaks- **_Glad to be of service, enjoy the next chapter!_

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Arnold woke to find an armful of sleeping Lila pinning most of his body to the couch. The once dimly-lit room was now nearly pitch black, and the Christmas lights covering the tree had been extinguished. Slowly and carefully, he removed his arm from under Lila's dress and placed his hand on her head, softly stroking her hair as she slept. It was a dream come true, he thought. Less than 24 hours ago, Lila had been a friend, an unattainable crush, but now… now she was resting her head on his chest and leaving a sizable quantity of drool on his jacket. He smiled to himself in the darkness. Even in her sleep, she was almost painfully adorable.

He leaned in and kissed her on the forehead, letting her fill his senses for one last time before the complete reality of their current predicament washed over him like a bucket of ice-water. They were still in the country club, and from what Arnold could tell from his surroundings, not only was the party long over, but the club was likely closed. He reached into his pocket to check the time on his phone: 12:13.

_Great_, he thought to himself. Gently but firmly, Arnold prodded his new girlfriend awake, to her evident displeasure.

"Ugh…" she groaned sleepily, "five more minutes, Daddy…"

"Lila. Come on, Lila, wake up."

After a few more shakes, Lila woke up in earnest, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She raised her head from her boyfriend's chest and cringed as a string of saliva remained, connecting her mouth with his jacket.

"Eeew…. I'm sorry, sweetie, that's the second time I've ruined your jacket tonight."

Lila's use of a pet name did not escape Arnold's notice, but for the moment, there was no time to think about that.

"Don't worry about it. We need to get out of here, it's past midnight."

That did the trick. Lila's head snapped up and she turned to look out the window. Just as her father had predicted earlier, soft white flakes were beginning to fall outside.

"Ok, I'm up, let's go."

After making various adjustments to their attire, the young couple exited the tiny room and walked down the corridor to the main entrance of the club. After many minutes of stumbling and whispered apologies, the pair made their way to the front entrance, only to discover that the door was locked.

"They locked us in!" Lila whispered frantically, "We're stuck here!"

"Shh," Arnold whispered, "d'you hear that? Sounds like…"

"Vacuum cleaners," the redhead finished excitedly. "Let's go!"

Still feeling their way through the darkness, Arnold and Lila followed the whine of the vacuum motor to its source, the same ballroom in which they had shared their first kiss just a few hours before. The soft ambiance of the Christmas party had been removed by now, and the lights and décor had been cleared away. Tables and chairs were neatly stacked on the far wall, and the carpet was being vacuumed by the room's only other occupants, three burly-looking Latino men. Arnold and Lila approached the nearest janitor, who promptly shut his vacuum.

"You speak any Spanish?" Arnold asked Lila nervously.

"Arnold, that's such a negative stereotype. I'm sure they speak perfect English."

"Que?"

Arnold raised his eyebrows at Lila.

"Alright, maybe not."

As Arnold looked on in astonishment, Lila began conversing with the man in Spanish. She spoke slowly, and her accent smacked strongly of what Arnold imagined an American tourist in Cancun might sound like, but she was apparently making progress, as the janitor nodded at whatever it was that she was saying. Once she finished her side of the conversation, the janitor responded just as slowly as Lila had been speaking, obviously aware that the young girl was not a native speaker. He also gestured at Lila's wrinkled attire, and Arnold noticed that Lila's feet were still bare. She'd never retrieved her shoes from Phoebe earlier, and she, Phoebe, must have taken them with her for safekeeping. Suddenly, Lila interrupted the janitor with as much indignation as she could muster in a foreign language, and the large man shouted something back to his two co-workers, who howled with laughter.

Lila turned around, grabbed Arnold by the arm and led him out of the room, her face red.

"What did he say?" Arnold asked.

"He asked why we weren't with the others, and I told him we were sleeping, and he thought… he thought…"

"I get the idea. So where are we going?"

"There's another exit further this way, they left it open. Come on."

Lila led Arnold down another dark hallway to a sliding glass door in the back of the club, which opened almost directly into the parking lot. Arnold started to open the door, but stopped halfway through and turned to Lila.

"There's a few inches of snow on the ground, Lila, are you going to be ok with no shoes?"

"I'll be fine, sweetie. I can see the car from here, it's not a long walk."

_There's that name again_, Arnold thought. _I could get used to this._

"Ok, but here," he said, removing his jacket and wrapping her shoulders with it. "Take this, it's freezing out there. Let's go."

As soon as Arnold had shut the sliding door behind them, he and Lila bolted toward the Packard, making it inside the car in just a few seconds, where they sat, shivering from the intense cold.

"T-t-thanks for the j-jacket-t," Lila managed through chattering teeth.

"D-don't mention it." Arnold replied, starting the ignition.

The ride back was eventful, to say the least. The heavily falling snow impeded Arnold's visibility to the point where he had to open his window and stick his head out to navigate through the blinding snow. For her part, Lila managed the car's climate control, finding the right combination of cold and hot air to keep the windshield's properly defogged. In truth, driving the Packard in this weather was more of an exercise in endurance and luck than skill, and when they finally arrived at Lila's apartment, Arnold was fully prepared to count it as a miracle.

"Ok, there's a spot over there," Lila said.

"I think it'd probably be easier to just pull over and let you get out," Arnold said.

"Are you crazy? You have to stay the night! Look outside, there's no way I'm letting you drive home in that! We barely made it here with both of us looking after the car, and it's even worse now!"

She had a point, Arnold noticed. It had gotten noticeably worse in just a few minutes. The steadily falling heavy flakes had become a full-on whiteout. It was nearly impossible to see anything more than an inch in front of the car, and there was more falling every second. To make matters worse, the snow on the ground had accumulated to nearly a foot, and Arnold had no snow tires for traction. Faced with these setbacks, Arnold finally relented and parked.

"Give me the key, I'll open the front door and you can run in, ok?" Arnold said. Lila nodded, fished around in her purse for the small silver key, and handed it to Arnold, who ran for the door, followed closely by Lila. Once inside the apartment, their expectations of warmth were quickly dashed by a gust of cold air blowing from somewhere that neither of them could see through the blackness that surrounded them.

"The power must have gone out," Lila explained, switching on and off the lights to no effect to demonstrate her point, "Daddy wouldn't have left the lights off, and he especially wouldn't have turned off the heat."

"Well where's that wind coming from, then?" Arnold asked, walking towards the source of their icy discomfort. His question was quickly answered by a crunching beneath his shoes.

"Don't move," he warned quickly, "there's glass on the floor. The window's broken."

"There should be a lantern on the table," Lila said, "bring it here and I can give us some light, at least. I'll have to worry about the window in the morning."

Arnold held his hands in front of him, feeling through the darkness like a blind man. Eventually, his fingers felt the cold metal of the lantern and he handed it to Lila, who had a lighter ready in hand. She carefully lit the small lantern and a dim glow lit the tiny apartment.

"Ok," she said, "you can sleep in Daddy's bed. Would you mind…"

"Not at all," Arnold smiled, slipping his arms beneath Lila's knees and behind her back. In one smooth motion, he swept her off her feet and carried her around the chairs and bureaus, with the lantern dangling below.

"Take a right here," Lila cautioned, "and a left. Now open the door."

He did. As Arnold walked towards the bed, he felt the familiar crunching of glass once again. Lila held the lantern to the bedspread. Thousands of razor-sharp shards of glass glittered back like diamonds under the dim light. The window that sat a few feet above Mr. Sawyer's bed had been shattered, covering the bed in glass.

"Great," Lila moaned, as they moved back into the sitting room. "Are _all_ the windows broken?"

As if in reply, a high wind kicked up, blowing gusts of wind and snow from all directions, spraying them in the face.

"How did this happen?"

"I don't know. Somebody might have broken in while we were away," Lila suggested. "It's happened before."

"Then why didn't they take anything?"

Lila shrugged. "Do you see anything worth taking around here?"

Arnold didn't answer.

"There's no way around it, then," Lila said, "You'll have to sleep in my bed with me. No buts," she snapped, noticing her boyfriend's hesitation, "you saw my dad's bed. You're not sleeping in that, and I won't have you sleeping on the couch with the wind blowing through here, you'll freeze to death. My bed's on the other side of the window, so there shouldn't be any glass on it, even if the window's broken like the others."

Lila led Arnold into her bedroom. Her floor was covered with glass, but as she had predicted, the bed was free of any visible shards.

Lila tapped Arnold on the shoulder. "Thanks for the lift, sweetie, but I can take it from here." Arnold gently put her down. She walked over to her dresser, taking great care to avoid the glass, returning wearing a pair of slippers, with a large tee-shirt and some pajama bottoms in her arms.

"Here," she said, "change into these, they should fit you. I want to go make sure that I locked the front door."

Lila took the lantern with her and closed her bedroom door. Once it was shut, she checked the front door, mostly to avoid being a liar. In truth, she knew quite well that it was locked tight, she would never leave it open in this neighborhood. The real reason she needed the lantern was far more sinister than an unlocked door. She hadn't lied about the apartment having being broken into before, but she had reason to believe that wasn't the case here. Arnold was right, a burglar would have taken _something_ for his trouble, or at least wrecked more of the apartment than just the windows. Lila moved quickly to the broken window of the sitting room, casting the light from the lantern as far as it would carry.

_Come on,_ she thought, _these windows didn't break by themselves, where _is_ it?_

After a few more seconds of searching, she found what she'd been looking for. A large red brick rested several feet from where the glass shards lay. She examined it for a moment, and in the pale lamplight she could just barely see the word "whore" written in large black letters on all sides of the brick. Her stomach twisted in a tight knot. Lila's worst fear had been realized, and much more quickly than expected.

"Helga…" she muttered sadly, "couldn't you have given us just one night together?"

Lila decided that tomorrow, she would have to have a talk with Helga. Christmas Eve or not, putting it off would only make it worse for both of them. For now, though, Lila still had a promise to keep, and if Arnold found any of the bricks, his questions might force her to choose between lying to her boyfriend and betraying one of her closest friends even more than she already had. Working quickly, Lila located the bricks near each broken window of the apartment, each inscribed with different and progressively more creative obscenities. She stashed the bricks in the bathroom in the cabinet under the sink. The only one remaining was in her bedroom, which remained closed. Why was Arnold taking so long to change, she wondered. Had he found the brick?

The door swung open.

"Alright, I'm all set, and I called my grandpa to let him know where I was."

"Y-you did? Did he say anything?"

"Why would he?" Arnold shrugged. "I'm staying at Gerald's tonight, and I'll be home for dinner tomorrow. You're welcome to join us if you're not doing anything here."

"Well, I have something I need to do tomorrow afternoon, but I'd be glad to spend Christmas Eve with your family. Let me just change and we can hit the hay."Arnold stood aside and let Lila through, shutting the door behind her. Once inside, she frantically searched for the final missing brick. After a few seconds, her lingering suspicion turned into panic. _Had_ Arnold found the brick? Why didn't he say anything? What had he done with it? Finally, she spotted a dark corner of crimson beneath her dresser. Satisfied that Arnold would not have seen it there, she turned it over and examined the text. This one was simply inscribed with the word "friend," which had been neatly stricken through with a straight black line. Lila felt herself tearing up. In its own way, this final message was much more hurtful than the others.

_That would be because it's true. You're not her friend, not anymore. You made your bed, now sleep in it._

Lila tried her best to ignore her thoughts. For now, Arnold was still waiting for her, and this problem would have to wait until morning. She shivered in the freezing air of her bedroom, slipping an oversized tee-shirt on and throwing on a pair of pajama bottoms. She took one more moment to compose herself before slowly opening the door. "Alright, sweetie, let's get to bed."

That, as it turned out, was easier said than done. Lila's bed was considerably smaller than Arnold's bed, and in truth it was almost too small for Lila by herself, let alone with another person. As a result, Arnold had decided to do the gentlemanly thing and let Lila lay with her back against the wall, while his back was to the edge of the bed. This way, he'd be the one to fall off should one of them roll over too far in their sleep.

They huddled together in the darkness, arms wrapped around each other in an attempt to retain their precious body heat. Arnold broke the long silence with a gasp when he felt Lila's icy hands slip underneath his shirt and touch his warm back.

"Sorry!" Lila whispered, "I'm sorry, I should have asked you first."

"It's ok, just took me by surprise, that's all."

"You know… you can do the same thing with me, if you want."

Arnold hesitated. "But my hands feel fine."

"I know they do," Lila purred softly, "that's why I don't mind if you want to put them on my back."

His cheeks were burning as his trembling fingers found the bottom of her shirt and slipped inside. This was the first time he'd ever felt a girl's body. She was almost painfully thin, Arnold thought, and he could nearly count her ribs with his fingers. Still, she was soft, and the goosebumps running down her back told him that she was enjoying the tactile pleasure of his hands on her midsection.

"So how was our first date?" Arnold asked.

"Pretty lousy so far, wouldn't you say?"

Arnold began stammering an apology, but Lila put a finger to his lips.

"I only meant that… well, I never got a goodnight kiss, that's all."

"Oh." Arnold's heart pounded, and he felt certain that Lila could feel it. "Well, I guess I'd better make it up to you."

While still rubbing his hands across her back, Arnold leaned forward in the darkness and planted a soft, lingering kiss on Lila's lips. The young redhead moaned softly into his mouth and pressed her body closer to his. When they broke apart, Lila let out a disappointed groan. "You're getting better at that," she said breathlessly.

"I still love you, you know," Arnold said.

"I love you too, Arnold," Lila whispered sweetly, "but if you tell anybody we slept together twice on our first date I'll break your legs."

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_I remember saying that the Phoebe weirdness would be explained by now, but I kinda underestimated how many chapters I'd need to get up to that point. As of now, the Phoebe weirdness will be addressed in Chapter 11, but don't quote me._

_EDIT: Just corrected some minor things like typos and repetitive phrasings I've used in other chapters. Nothing major.  
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_Finally, I'd like to say that if, for any reason, you feel that this story is, shall we say, not that great, please tell me why so I can fix it! Don't make this my Phantom Menace, people! Review! Seriously, when I get reviews I'm more motivated to write more!  
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_Oh, and before anybody mentions it, I'm aware that Lila is a bit OOC, especially in this chapter. That's not a mistake, it's a plot point, and it'll be addressed._


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